Chapter 99: Aetheric Duelist II


    ?


    Lyra smiled with joy as she watched Emir''s face light up with excitement.


    Despite his tendency to get lost in his love for fighting and battle, his nicknamed battle junkie mode, she couldn''t help but love him all the same.


    Seeing him so happy was a sight that never failed to warm her heart.


    [Of course, I already talked to you about themon sses or specialization that hunters usually evolve into after bing celestials, and as I mentioned, you were trained to be an Aetheric Duelist, but now you can think more about your specialization, and what you might want to focus on instead of that if you so wish.]


    [True, but I already trained for that ss, so changing now would only throw away all my foundation in the trash... I can add to it instead of switching it out entirely though, since I don''t need to follow a set path, or do I?]


    [Naturally. You have me, so you don''t need to follow a path provided by the UEF, any or all future obstacles in your training are something we can ovee. So just go after and train whatever abilities with which you are mostfortable.]


    The UEF had gained many benefits from joining the alliance, and one of them was ess to Aether specializations and their ''Paths.''


    Aether specialization was aplex tree-like system that determined an individual''s ''Celestial Essence'' or in other words their affinity for specific types of Aetheric abilities.


    Each specialization corresponded to a unique path that had its own set of abilities, skills, arts, and aspects.


    Individuals who possessed a set of abilities in a particr specialization joined a ss of a specific type of Celestial.


    Some think of it as an ability tree, like what one can find in a video game, however much looser since the Celestial could go after whatever specialization they wish for, which then would form their Celestial Essence.


    The only two deciding factors were how easy they wished their journey to be, as the stronger the specialization was, the harder it was for the Celestial to master.


    The second factor was what specialization ability pathway they could ess, as the pathways weren''t publicly avable.


    The UEF and the CCA alliance made sure of that.


    Some asked the question...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Why do these pathways exist?"


    Well, when a Celestial evolved into a Seraphim, their body would undergo a process of mutation that fuses their physical body with Aether.


    The Aether core bes an integral part of their body, and their physical form mutates based on the types of abilities they use most.


    This results in a specialization path, which determines the types of abilities they will be most proficient in and the path they will take to develop their powers further.


    For example, if a Celestial predominantly used fire-based abilities, they would follow the path of the fire specialist.


    Their body would mutate to be more resilient to fire, and they would develop new techniques and abilities based on their affinity towards that specialization.


    However, if a Celestial tried to develop abilities from different specializations, their body would be spread thin during the mutation process.


    This results in them bing a bearer of all but a master of none, in a much worse sense of the meaning.


    The resulting abilities would be incredibly weak, rendering the Celestial practically useless in battle against other Celestials.


    Furthermore, the thinning of the body during the mutation process would have significant downsides beyond justckluster abilities.


    It can lead to them turning ''Hollow'' and dying as one would of old age.


    But before that, they would gain physical weakness and vulnerability in all aspects of life.


    It would also result in a shorter lifespan as the body would not be able to fully handle the strain of the Aether being infused in it.


    Emir, on the other hand, was unique in that his entire body had already begun the process of Aether mutation.


    He had a much greater capacity to handle Aether reserves than the average person, as his body had already developed an organic Aether core instead of a typical Aether core imnt.


    And he could handle and store more Aether due to his body going through a mutation long before reaching the Seraphim rank, whichbined with his strength cultivation art increased his Aether reserves much further than his peers.


    Emir has the potential to be an incredibly powerful Celestial, capable ofbining multiple specializations into one and developing unique abilities that other Celestials could


    not.


    So he sat there, thinking about his abilities with that in mind, but first, he wanted to confirm something:


    [Hey, Lyra, I need you to show me my current abilities and their exact use.]


    Instead of responding she quickly formed a hologram in front of him which read.


    {Aetheric des: The ability to channel Aether into des, creating des coated with pure energy that can slice through nearly any material.} [


    {Aether st: The ability to channel Aether into a single, devastating shot that deals massive damage to a single target.}


    Emir stared at the screen for a few moments and said:


    [Add my TDS ability and change its name to Temporal Perception.]


    [Temporal Perception: The user has the ability to manipte his perception of time, allowing the user to perceive their surroundings in slow motion or even freeze time altogether. It requires a significant amount of mental energy to use and a minuscule amount of Aether.]


    He nodded.


    [Much better, thanks Lyra.]


    Lyra suddenly appeared and popped up her face right in front of Emir as she said:


    [Anything.]


    Emir wasn''t taken aback by her shenanigans and continued to think about his abilities.


    Although he could start training whatever ability he wanted, it was still in his best interest to follow a set path for an Aetheric Duelist, as he was still new to using Aether.


    ''For now, I can cultivate while thinking about what ability I should get next....''


    His thoughts were correct as he would need some time to stabilize his body and unlock his


    next ability.


    Emir soon began the process of cultivation.


    The nanobots inside his body rumbled as they ate up his muscles and tissues to thest cell for breakfast, regenerating and strengthening them.


    Although the pain was much lower than his first time cultivating, it still caused him a lot of pain; however, he had long since gotten used to it.


    He chuckled when he remembered the time when he unknowingly mutated way back then.


    ''I wonder what the five-year-old me would think if he knew about the pain I''m going through


    now...''


    ''Would he still say that there is no pain resistance?'' He thought with closed his eyes.


    ''Ah, those were the good times, when all I had to worry about was a simple academy novel.''


    ''Though me having all this potential due to a gic mutation, huh, who is my father really?'' Emir already asked his mom about it, but she had no special lineage or anything simr, so it


    had to be him.


    ''I can only wonder....''


    The older Emir got, the more he realized that the knowledge he possessed was merely a tiny speck of dust in the vast expanse of the universe''s grand schemes.